


Aloth vs. The Bathhouse

by ElfFromDenerim



Category: Pillars of Eternity
Genre: Bath Houses, Bathing/Washing, F/F, F/M, Naked Female Clothed Male, Naked Male Clothed Female
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-25
Updated: 2018-07-02
Packaged: 2019-05-28 04:06:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15040331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElfFromDenerim/pseuds/ElfFromDenerim
Summary: During downtime, the Captain often brings her companions into the Luminous Bathhouse to soak and unwind. Aloth tries to enjoy himself each time, but something always happens to spoil the mood. (Just a few chapters of silliness and understated romance.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Aloth _really_ enjoys the bathhouse in my playthroughs, but that's probably because the other companions can't get up to as much mischief in canon as they do in headcanon...

**Round One**

Aloth had expected he wouldn’t enjoy the bathhouse, since it was fueled by animancy and patrons bathing naked in public. A shameful display of indecency and pride. A few years earlier, he would have found it intolerable. Yet, when they arrived, he was surprised by how much he enjoyed it.

The rich glow of luminous glow of aquamarine tiles, the hand-refined luminous adra of the bathwaters, the warm steam that filled the air, the relaxed and contented ambiance, aided by the serene expressions on the patrons. Many patrons leaving looked flushed and glowing; and thoroughly energized.

Aloth thought how pleasant it might be pleasant to go in for a soak… he couldn’t remember the last time he was able to relax in a hot bath…

He was relieved to learn that all patrons were expected to scrub thoroughly in the public shower stalls before being permitted into the bathwaters. Good to see the pipes bringing hot water up from the boiler below were put to more use than just heating the bath water.

Still, he did wish the shower stalls were not so shallow, nor without any doors or curtains. There was one loose area where men bathed, and one where women bathed, with no sort of wall or curtain to separate them. Then again, given how many bathhouse patrons of all sexes bathed openly together in the common area, with little in the way of clothing, and some not at all…

'Aye, it’s just a bit o’ fleshie bits in the groin, scholar-lad,' Iselmyr said in his head. 'It’s nye as if NOO ONE had them.'

“Just because everybody has… that… under their clothes, doesn’t mean I wish to see it," Aloth hissed indignantly.

'Aye? Nye even yer own aurlan-lass, scholar-lad?'

He tried not to look over where the women were bathing; though he could hear exactly where it was from their conversation. He dared a quick glance despite himself, and should have known that Maia Rua’s tall, sturdy, muscular build, bright yellow skin and orange markings, and large, round buttox would naturally draw the eye more than anything else. Xoti stood chatting in the stall beside her, and looked very pleasantly slim yet strong, with lushious dark skin and her long, dark, wavy-brown hair soaked with suds.

Nya stood at Maia’s other side, and from his brief glance he could see she was less than half her height; barely came up to her buttox. Her back was to him, but his mind involuntarily picked up nothing noteworthy, since she was covered head to foot in inch-long coarse fur, that now looked dark brown, smooth, and glossy under the showers of the bathhouse.

She had been looking up over her shoulder toward Maia’s head, smiling and laughing.

Aloth felt his face burn as he hastily looked away, and admonished himself for his perversion and foolishness.

Iselmyr laughed in his head. 'Ye call it 'perversions' ta gaze at yer own 'un?'

Aloth strived to ignore her, and focus on himself. He was torn between wanting to scrub quickly so he could cover himself, and wanting to be thorough so he would not bring any sweat or filth into the pristine water.

Edér and Serafen were far less self-conscious, or discreet. They chatted as they scrubbed in side-by-side shower stalls, and struck up casual conversation with other patrons passing by. Xoti and Maia, in turn, were chatting fairly light-heartedly from their showers further along the room. The ambiance of the bathhouse was relaxed and friendly, Aloth could give them that.

He gazed at the pristine waters of the bathhouse, and imagined how lovely it would feel once he could go in for a soak.

Edér strolled up to him, and Aloth quickly averted his eyes when he saw that he that the tall, broad, scruffy, grizzled Drywoodan was dressed in only the bathhouse-issued sandals, with the towel draped over his shoulder.

“Hey Aloth,” he said casually, “You, uh… think you’ll be coming in soon?”

“I was just about to finish!” he exclaimed, flustered, and tried to angle himself toward the wall.

Serafen then strolled up, equally naked, standing tall for all to see. Thankfully he had thick fur all over and a bit of a gut to hide any… unseemliness.

“Ye aiming ta scrub yer skin clean off, or make us all wait till we’re old men afore we can get in the tub?”

“I’m going as fast as I can!” he said indignantly, drawing the bathhouse-issued towel around his hips, feeling immediately better for it.

“A’right, Maia and Xoti are getting in the tub now,” Edér said, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder to the two women.

Maia stood tall and proud in her bathhouse-issued bikini (than the gods), surveying the other patrons, while Xoti lowered one leg into the tub. It was strange seeing Xoti looking so… clean… and out of her usual robes and hood. Aloth never thought he had seen so much skin on her… and then realized with a start that she was topless. Her stringy, wavy, dark brown hair was no longer matted with grease for once… and it was all that was covering her breasts.

Aloth quickly looked away, then tried to pinch away the migraine at the bridge of his nose. Where did Nya find these people?!

“Better take a dip quick, before…”

Edér was interrupted by a pig’s squeak, followed by the sound of Nya groaning, and the sound of a pig's hooves scraping against the tile.

“Caddy, hold still!”

All eyes were drawn to Nya trying to wrestle her wild boar animal companion, Cadpig, into holding still for a scrub-down. Considering he was almost as tall as her on all fours, definitely far thicker than her from shoulder to shoulder, and longer than her from snout to tail, this was no easy feat. She was dressed only with a single large bathhouse towel (white with a blue strip and logo near the ends) around her torso, and still covered in suds from the shower. Cadpig was likewise half-covered in foamy suds, and was struggling not to be covered any further. Nya had one short arm wrapped around his thick neck, and struggled to scrub him with a firm boar hair brush with the other.

“Come… on… Cadpig!” Nya groaned, half-coaxing and half-frustrated, like many a pet-owner who tried in vain to make their animal sit still for a bath. “You wanna go in the water, don’t you? You gotta get clean if you wanna go in the water!”

Cadpig grunted, and threw her off with a toss of his head. Nya fell backwards onto her bottom, but then quickly rallied herself and charged at her pig again before he could take off. In the struggle, her towel came loose and fell off.

Aloth was treated to the sight of his beloved’s short and sturdy build, with… surprisingly ample curves. Her torso and limbs were all short and strong, with the hard muscles required for archery under her auburn fur. She had strong shoulders and long fingered claws, with strong thighs and noticeable calves. But he had never seen how…

She grappled with her pig again. They were both fully naked and hairy and covered in suds. She ran her scrub brush over his head despite his protesting squeals.

By now, more patrons were watching and laughing, and Ganor looked like he might approach her.

Edér said, “Hey, Nya? You think you might need any help there…”

Cadpig threw her off again, then went sprinting down the other side of the bathhouse (throwing back his head and kicking his feet in freedom) before she could run after him.

Nya stood up, looked ready to run after him, but instead threw her scrub brush down with a huff. She was so short and cute that the effect of her indignant huff made her look more adorable than anything. “Fine! No adra bath for you!”

Cadpig snorted behind him. He always had to have the last word. Once the wild boar got to the far wall he settled down, and scratched the back of his ear with a small, pointed hind hoof.

Nya sighed, defeated; though she sounded more bemused than truly angry or frustrated.

"He'll be back," she grinned, and turned back to the group.

“I can help you if you wish, captain,” Maia said with a completely straight face.

“Now she offers!” Nya exclaimed, throwing up her hands and rolling her eyes; though with that eternal lopsided grin.

Maia grinned wickedly, and chuckled.

Xoti tittered, before catching herself. "Aw, that's not very nice..." she half-heartedly admonished, in her sweet Readcerean accent.

Maia Rua looked down at her with a visibly softened expression. "I'm sorry to displease you, Firefly."

“Did ye have ta let the beast go running ah’ready, lass? It was just gettin’ ta the good bits…”

“This ain’t a peep show, I don’t know what you’re talking about…” Nya trailed off, suddenly aware that all of her companions were looking at her funny.

She looked down, and realized she was naked.

She grinned widely and placed her hands on her jutting hips, looking to each of them. “Like what you see?”

Aloth turned away before he could see the others’ reactions. He felt suddenly hot all over; his face was boiling, and there were other parts…

Iselmyr must have taken over for a time (as she did from time to time; sometimes he was fully aware of her outbursts; other times he did not hear about the comments she made or conversations she had with others until someone decided to tell him later, as Edér often did), because the next the others were lowering themselves into the adra bathwaters, and he seemed to be following them.

“Hey, captain? You comin’ in?” Edér called over his shoulder.

“In a minute!” she said from the shower, and threw a bucket of water sitting under the water shoot over her head to get herself re-soaked. She then started running her fingers against the grain of her fur so they stood up on end, revealing more suds underneath, which she then tried to wipe off with more water and her flat palm. “That’s the downside to being an orlan,” she sighed, “takes FOREVER to get the soap out.”

Suddenly, it made sense why she tended to bathe with water only once a week or so back in Drywood, and contented herself to rub a kind of fine sand that clumped when moist into her fur, then brushed it it out when it got soaked up with her sweat and grease; and rub herself all over with the underbrush of Dyrood and Eir Glanfath’s more sweet-smelling foliage in the meantime.

“Dunno what ye’re talking about, lass,” Serafen said proudly, “It ne’er takes me half as long to scrub meself out.”

“That’s because YOU never bathe!” Nya said accusingly.

“Bah! I scrubbed meself down well enough here, did’n I?”

“Yup,” Nya grinned slyly, never breaking eye contact even as she poured another bucket of water over herself.

And it suddenly dawned on Aloth that the reason she brought them there—the main reason—was to make Tekēhu, Serafen, and Xoti all take thorough baths.

“Well-played, aurlan lass!” Iselmyr burst out.

Nya grinned, and chuckled self-consciously.

“Ye think ye’ll be done any day now?” Serafen said impatiently.

“Hold on!” she said, and wrapped her large white and blue bathhouse towel around herself again before rushing to the water.

Aloth was sorry to see it go on, and all at once it dawned on him that he had been staring at her completely naked form, without even realizing it.

His face burned and he felt boiling hot all over once again, and lowered himself at the edge of the bathwaters to hide the fact that he felt like fainting.

“Fye! Ye’d think the scholar-lad’s ne’er seen a woman’s fleshy bits a’fore!” Iselmyr burst out.

Aloth felt he could die of such humiliation. He hung his head and tried to look as small as possible.

Thankfully only Edér, seated in the water right beside him, seemed to hear. He patted Aloth reassuringly (and roughly) on the back. “There, there.”

Nya sighed and huffed, blowing a long strand of hair out of her eyes. She scanned the bathhouse presently, planted her hands on her hips, and frowned at the door.

“Where's Tekēhu, anyway?” she said.

“Tekēhu?” Aloth said out loud, before he could stop himself.

He completely forgot! Tekēhu came here with them. No wonder it was pleasantly quiet. Aloth hadn’t even realized he was gone, he’d so thoroughly enjoyed the serenity of his absence.

But, speak of the spirit, and it is sure to arrive.

At that very moment Tekēhu came strolling out of the dining area, patting his belly and beaming. Somehow, he was already completely disrobed save the white bathhouse-issued towel around waist, and grinning proudly.

For a wild moment, Aloth had assumed he had slipped into the dining area to eat his fill while the party was distracted. And then Aloth spied a much smaller elven serving girl rushing into the room from behind him, simpering and attempting to flatten her disheveled hair. Suddenly it all made sense.

“Ekere, sorry I’m late!" Tekēhu exclaimed in his loud, boisterous way. "I was simply enjoying the... samples... this establishment has to offer." He grinned lustily at the serving girl who had entered the room behind him, and who was currently blushing and flustered; trying to wait on other patrons without making eye contact with him. "What did I miss?”

Aloth pinched the bridge of his nose with the tips of his fingers again, and groaned.

**Bathhouse: 1**

**Aloth: 0**


	2. Aloth vs. The Bathhouse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Second verse, same as the first!

**Round 2**

Aloth sighed contentedly as he lowered himself into the luminous water.

“Now _this_ is a worthy use for animancy…” he said.

He could feel his worries melting away in the warm waters. He could not remember the last time he was so relaxed. It was as if years of built-up stress, tension, and knots melted like candle wax before an open flame. The presence of other patrons only added to the ambiance, and for once even the group was peacefully quiet. He could stay here forever.

“You certainly seem to admire this luminous bathhouse, Aloth,” Pallegina said from a nearby table. She and Ishiza declined to come into the water due to not wanting to get their feathers soaked. “It was made by animancers, of course.”

“And if they devoted all of their efforts into such efforts, you wouldn’t hear me complain,” Aloth said, tipping his head back and melting further into the water.

Once, a comment like that might have annoyed him, but presently he felt too euphoric to care.

Still, even in his best mood he could not help but take note of his surroundings.

Maia and Xoti were sitting furthest from him, a little way from the group. They were whispering and giggling with each other; or, at least, Xoti was whispering and giggling, while Maia gazed at her with uncharacteristically soft adoration, draping a single arm along the concrete behind her head.

Edér, Tekēhu, and Serafen were a little closer to him, talking about… whatever it is they talked about. Aloth was in too good a mood to care.

Nya approached the bath beside him. He smiled up at her, and felt his heart swell at her gentle, answering smile.

“Finally, the noble captain of _The Defiant_ graces us wif her presence!” Serafen exclaimed. “Thought you were gonna be all day about it.”

“Keep talking,” she said, but didn’t follow up.

She got down on her haunches beside Aloth, tested the water with her fingers, and gazed as though gauging its depth and her planned method of entry. She clutched the edge with one hand and hopped into the water with one fluid motion; splashing him. 

“Sorry!” she said with a nervous grin.

“It’s quite all right,” Aloth said, brushing off the water droplets she splashed on him.

She walked around in circles for a bit and he realized, all at once, that the water, while waist-high for most kith, was neck-high for her. Even while standing, Nya had to lift her chin slightly to keep it from getting it wet. 

“Are you all right?” Aloth said impulsively, “You look very… submerged.”

She slung an arm over the side to pull herself up, so the water at least rested below her shoulders instead of over them.

“I’m all right.” She grinned as she knocked the tile at the edge of the water with her knuckles. “That’s what this is for.”

“Very well. But still,” he fumbled, “It can’t be very comfortable.”

She grinned mischievously. “Why? Are you offering to let me sit on your lap?”

He felt as if his face would boil off, and could use a few splashes from the comparatively cool bath water.

“I—no! That is, I didn’t mean anything like that…”

She laughed, though not unkindly. It was not a malicious laugh that took joy in his discomfort, but a gentle one that found honest mirth in his flustered reactions.

Her eyes opened, and they were filled with gentle adoration.

He loved when she looked at him like that—but it also made him feel flustered and overwhelmed. Still, he loved being here with her. The relaxing ambiance of the bathhouse, the relatively quiet setting. Perhaps later, when their companions quieted down or found other forms of amusement, the two of them would have a chance to relax together and just talk…

Unfortunately, that time would not be now. Tekēhu had just reached them.

“Ekera! I could not help but overhear your predicament, fair captain.”

“No, I’m fine!” she said, a little too quickly.

“Such nervousness! I only wish to offer my services to you! As you can see, my lap is quite tall out of the water, and you fill find little to desire in terms of open air!”

“That’s really not necessar—ee!” she squealed as he lifted her out of the water as easily as if she were a cat from the bath, and placed her on his bended knee.

“Nya!” 

Aloth felt several things at once. Alarmed for her since Tekēhu had manhandled her without her permission, intense jealousy that another man touched her in such an intimate way that he hadn’t, and (more than anything) rage that he had done so against her express wishes. Aloth could not even stand when other kith touched his shoulders or patted his back without his consent; he could not bear such intrusive contact such as this for his own one!

“Put her down, right now!” he demanded.

(He would not marvel, until later, that for once it was he who lost his temper in a heated situation rather than Iselmyr.)

“Ekera!” Tekēhu exclaimed, “I meant no offense, friend Aloth!” 

“It’s not me you should be apologizing to!” Aloth retorted.

Iselmyr cackled, "Fye, ye’ve riled him noow!"

Nya pushed herself off Tekēhu’s chest, then yelped as she fell into the water.

This drew several eyes, and the others approached as her head emerged, gasping.

“Is everything all right here?” Edér asked casually.

“Ekera! I meant no offense!” Tekēhu said again.

“Of course you didn’t,” Aloth grumbled.

This was the problem with these pampered creatures from Bragganhyl Academy and the Huana upper class. They had no sense of loyalty or responsibility, discretion or respect for anyone’s wishes or desires apart from their own. They felt entitled to touch and take whatever they wanted whenever the whim struck them, never giving a thought that maybe the other person might not wish to have their belongings rifled with, or their very persons touched or manhandled, just because they wished it.

Aloth lightly placed a steadying hand on Nya's shoulder and offered his other for her to grab onto, to help her find her balance. She coughed, sputtered, and shook her head, splaying water everywhere.

"Are you all right, Nya?" Aloth asked gently.

She nodded, and squeezed his hand as she steadied herself.

It warmed his heart that he could be of some use to her in this moment, but he felt all the more protective of her and indignant at Tekēhu.

The fact that he had casually grabbed Nya by the scruff and foisted her around like a house cat or rag doll to sit on his lap, when she had expressed times beyond counting before that she hated being grabbed by the “big kith” (as she called them), due to her people’s history and her own lifetime avoiding the orlan slave trade, was beyond reckless and selfish. It was almost more than Aloth could bear. He felt infuriated on Nya’s behalf.

_Fye, ye’er jess thinking aboot the time other students messed with yer books, scholar-lad._

“That’s hardly the same thing!” Aloth snapped.

By this point, the other companions waded over to see what was going on, and their privacy was officially ruined.

“You all right there, Nya?” Edér asked again.

“What’s all this about?” Maia asked distractedly, though she clearly didn’t care what was going on and seemed more vaguely annoyed that the commotion drew her ‘Firefly’ away from their conversation.

Nya coughed one more time, and shook her head so that her coarse head hair spiked in all directions.

“I’ll thank you _not_ to do that again,” she said to Tekēhu.

“Ekera, did I do something wrong?” Tekēhu asked, sounding as confused and hurt as a child.

Aloth scoffed and rolled his eyes. Of course, this was how pampered princes like this always ducked out of taking responsibility for their actions—act sweet and innocent so that people pitied them for hurting their poor feelings, rushed to coddle their bruised egos, and assure them that they had not truly miss-stepped, which ensured that they learned no lesson and continued to disregard other people’s property, persons, and well-being in the future.

“Where to start?!”

Before Nya could continue, Cadpig suddenly leapt into the water beside her—creating not only a considerable splash, but letting some dried suds off his hide seep into the water.

“Caddy, no! You’re not supposed to get in the water!”

“Aw, come on! Let him stay,” Edér grinned, patting the huge boar taking up so much room and creating choppy water by dog-paddling with his thin hooves.

Nya pointed an accusatory finger at Cadpig, "You didn't finish your bath, remember?"

And then suddenly Cosmo, her giant miniature space piglet, lept into the water (though with a less considerable splash), and chopped up the water with his own dog-paddling.

Suddenly, this section of the bathhouse was getting much more crowded and chaotic.

“Aw, look at that little pig! With his little hooves,” Xoti said, making her way over.

And then the dog decided it wanted in on the fun too, pacing back and forth at the water’s edge and barking a few times, before making the leap into the water to join his friends in their merriment.

“Hey! You haven’t had a bath either—quit it!”

Aloth turned to Pallegina, who had been tasked with watching the party's equipment and pets, since she had declined to get into the water herself. "Will you _kindly_ dissuade them?"

"It is not as if they will listen to me," Pallegina said as Nya's Labrador ignored her infamous glare to rush joyously to his mama, tongue lobbing about.

"No no no!" Nya braced herself as her lab rushed to the water at full speed, then shielded herself as he splashed her in the face.

Before long, Nya’s entire army of small pets (save the cats) decided they wanted to join the merriment and leapt into the water without any invitation or further ado. It was bad enough to see the dogs and piglets make themselves at home, but when the Grave Hound Pup decided to leap in, bringing his rot and decay to spoil the water, Aloth had almost more than he could take.

“Would you get those animals out of here?!” Ganor demanded.

“I’m sorry!” Nya exclaimed, trying to push a piglet out of the water. “It wasn’t MY idea!”

“Hey, you’ve got enough gold, right?” Edér said. “How much you think it’ll cost to rent the luminous bathhouse for a day and just... have a spa day for the pets? We’ll, er, pay for the water, of course.”

His obnoxious wink to Nya showed that he did not mean that last part.

Aloth rolled his eyes so hard he thought he might go blind for a second, pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a great, beleaguered sigh—only to inhale the sharp intake of fish. And he realized Tekēhu’s mere presence had spoiled the water too.

He scowled and crossed his arms. This was not how he had hoped this visit would go at all.

**Bathhouse: 2**

**Aloth: 0**


End file.
